Sleeve press



B. S. KAGAN March 8, 1949.

SLEEVE PRESS 2 sheets-sheet 1 Filed May 7, 1945 FlG..l

INVENTOR. BENJAMIN S. KAGAN B. s. KAGAN 2,463,777

- SLEEVE PRESS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 March 8,1949.

Filed May 7, I945 Patented Mar. 8, 1949 UNITED STATES iFiI-C'E SLEEVE PRESS Benjamin 'S.1Kagarn1 Moline, Ill,.,- assignor to: American Machine and Metals, Inc.,; EastMoline, 111., a corporation of Delaware Application May 7, 1945 Serial'No."592,306

14 Claims. .1

The present invention relates generally to ga ment presses and more particularly to presses for sleeves and other tubular portions of earments, and has for its principal object the provision of a novel and improved pressing machine for pressing or ironing at least one half the circumference of a sleeve or the like in one operation or'lay, without folding or creasing the sleeve.

It is known to those skilled in the art that it is not sufficient to place the sleeve over a form and merely apply a unidirectional pressure upon the pressing element, for the sides of the tubular garment are not in this manner subjected to pressures equal to that along the center of the garment portion. It is, therefore, a further object of my invention to provide a press in which the entire half circumference or more of the garment receives ample pressure to produce the desired results.

Sleeve presses are known to those skilled in the art, which will perform this function to a certain degree, and comprise complementarybuck and head members having an inverted V-shaped cross section, one of the members being constructed with hinged sides to permit lateral pressure to be applied, either by expanding the buck or by contracting the head. However, this arrangement is subject to the inherent disadvantage that when pressure is applied the angle between the hinged sides changes, resulting in an unequal distributi-on of lateral pressure over the vertical dimension of the press elements. Accordingly, another object of my invention relates to theprovision of means for producing a substantially equalized pressure over the sides of the press members.

In the accomplishment-of this object, I do not-hinge the sides of my buck member, but rather, provide bodily shiftable side plates, which are capable of a limited amount of free angular tilting movement and by exerting pressure against each plate at a point intermediate the top and bottom edges the plate can shift angularly as it'moves outwardly, thereby conforming to the inner surface of the concave headmember and substantially equalizing the pressure.

A furtherobject has to do with the provision of anexpansible buck which is appreciably simpler than those heretofore known in the art, With-corresponding reductions in weight and cost of :manufa-cture, and-which is more efficient in operation.

.These and other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art after a consideration of the following description, in which reference ishadtothe drawings app ended hereto; inwhich Figure 1 is a side elevational viewof a sleeve press embodyingthe principles of myin-Ve nti0n,

showing the *machine in pressing position, partly in section;

Figure 2 is a frontelevationalview of the pressi-ng elements drawn to an enlarged scale and --inc1uding diagrammaticallyaportion of the combuck showing the pressing plates expanded to pressingposition.

Referring now to" the drawings; the sleevepress is indicatedin-its entirety by reference numeral =5 and comprises a mainframe or housing-6 formed --of--vertically disposed side plates 7 and a horizontal plate -or table '8. A yoke ---9 is pivotally supported on a raised portion 10 of the 'housing *6. by-means of a pivot -pin H and -has a-forwardly extending head supporting arm a l 2. overhanging the table 8 and a downwardly extending actuating arm i '3 on the opposite side of the pivot H. The :12 carries a head HM on a series of knife edges :with spring restraint; indicated generallyvat l 5, but inasmuch as this mechanisin is known to those skilledxin the art, no detailed descriptionis deemed necessary.

.The head 15 coacts with .a abuck l6 and is forced froma raised-position above thebuck to a pressing position in contact withthe latter by .meansoia power device in the form of .-:a cylinder t'i,=within whichis-sli'dably 'disposedlalpis- -ton l'8 mounted on a 1 piston rod t9, projecting from onelend of the cylinder ill. 'The cylinder is 'pivotally=mounted-within the'housing fi on a .pivotpin 2-6, whilesthepistonrod IB ispivoted -atz'zi 1130:0118 end of a lever 22. 'The lever 22 is pivotally mounted by meansof .:a.piv0t:pin 23 .onithe frame or housing'ati within the walls 7.

The opposite end of the leveris22 carrieaa camming. roller 22.5, .which 'is disposed within. a slot 112% in :.-a.camming-member:21,=one,end of the latter .being pivoted at .128 i011 the yoke :9. The

other end oil the camming=member 21 lS-jfldjuStably secured to-the yoke 19 vby anadiust n s r 3219 threaded through ,a boss 30 in I the yo e -.and

rotatably attached .to :the,.=-camming member, 2'1.

. A hanldzwheel; 3| facilitates adjustment of the screw f or yangularly adjnsting thecamming -member about-the pivot 28.

'lhe yoke is-shown in alowered position but without tfull pressure being applied. ,Whenthe 8 piston I8 is moved to the upper end of the cylinder H, the lever 22 is swung in a counter-clockwise direction, shifting the roller 25 downwardly in the slot 26 and forcing the yoke 9 clock- Wise about its pivot I I, thereby applying pressure upon the head l4.

A pair of counterbalancing springs 32 is connected to a bracket 33 pivoted at 34 on the yoke 9 and anchored at its lower end (not shown) to the frame 6. The springs 32 urge the yoke in a counterclockwise direction to raise the head 4. The head is raised by the springs 32 when pressure is released from the cylinder ll, causing the roller to travel upwardly in the slot 26. The slot is curved in such a manner that the head moves downward rapidly until it approaches the buck 6, after which the movement is retarded, providing for exerting high pressure with correspondingly low speed of travel.

The press described herein above is disclosed l in greater detail and claimed in Pat. 2,307,686, granted Jan. 5, 1943 to Koepcke, to which reference may be had if desired.

Coming now to that part of the structure with which my invention is more directly concerned, the buck I6 is mounted on a pedestal 46, which is supported on the table 8. The buck is supported in cantilever fashion from the standard 48 and comprises a longitudinally extending top rail 4| extending along the top of an inverted V-shaped support 42, The support 42 comprises a housing having a bottom member 43, a pair of upwardly converging, longitudinally tapered side walls 44, and a top member 45, on which the rail 4| is mounted. A pair of pressing plates 46 lie against the sloping side walls 44 and are supported thereon by dowel pins 4'! rigidly fixed to the pressing plates and adapted to be inserted into holes 48 in the side walls 44, in which the pins fit loosely, providing for free bodily shifting movement of the plates 46 toward and away from the side walls 44 and also a limited amount of angular movement relative thereto for purposes to be explained.

Thus, the top rail 4| and the plates 46 define an inverted V-shaped surface on the buck, which is covered by a pressing pad 49, the outer convex surface 58 of which constitutes the pressing surfaces of the buck I6.

Means are provided for heating the buck. The walls 44 together with the top member 45, the bottom plate 43 and the web plates 61 and 68 form a steam chamber that heats the buck. Steam may be supplied to this heating space through a steam connection 60 and the condensation may be drained off through a pipe 6|. By placing the heating chamber in the center of the buck the camming devices 1| are located outside of the heating chamber while the heat is still carried through the buck and plates to the extreme ends of the buck.

The head I4 is provided with a complementary concave pressing surface formed by an inverted V-shaped metal plate 52, which receives the convex pressing surface 58. A steam jacket 53 embraces the plate 52 for heating the latter and comprises sloping side walls 54, bottom walls 55 interconnecting the lower edges of the plate 52 with the lower edges of the walls '54, a horizontal top wall 56 interconnecting the upper edges of the walls 54, and a pair of end walls 51, 58. Steam can be circulated through the jacket 53 by any conventional means (not shown).

It is obvious that if pressure is exerted only through the yoke arm l2, there is a concentrated pressure between the apex of the pressure plate 52 and the top rail 4|, with comparatively little pressure applied through the sides of the V- shaped surface 5|. However, according to the principles of the present invention, side pressures are transmitted through the pressing plates 46, which are forced outwardly from the side walls 44 by means which will now be described.

A shaft 65 extends longitudinally through the buck between the side plates 44 and is journaled for rocking movement within a tube 66 supported rigidly between a pair of web plates or intermediate transverse walls 61, 68, which are rigidly fixed, as by welding, to the side walls 44 of the support 42. The shaft 65 extends out of the latter through a journal bearing69 and carries, at its outer end, a crank arm 16, rigidly fixed thereto. A pair of spaced camming devices H are fixedly mounted on the shaft 6 5, each device comprising a pair of longitudinally spaced arms 12 fixed on the shaft and extending radially outwardly therefrom in opposite directions, and a pair of cam rollers l3 on trunnions l4 journaled between the arms E2 on opposite sides of the shaft 65. The rollers 13 are adapted to bear upon wear plates 15, welded to the insides of the plates 46 and disposed within suitable openings in the side walls 44. Thus, it is evident that by turning the shaft 65 in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Figure 3, the rollers F3 are swung outwardly against the wear plates 75, forcing the plates 46 outwardly away from the side walls 44 and thus exerting a pressure through the pad 49 upon the sides of the pressing surface 5| in the head l4. The camrning rollers are shown in solid lines in Figure 3 in relaxed position, and the dotted lines show the position of the arms 12 and rollers 13 in pressing position.

It will be noted that each pressing plate 46 receives pressure from two rollers disposed at longitudinally opposite ends of the plate and at points intermediate the top and bottom edges of the plates. This permits the plates 46 to move angularly relative to the side Walls 44 as the plates 46 move bodily outwardly therefrom, causing the pressure exerted through the rollers to be distributed over the entire faces of the plates 46.

The shaft 65 is rocked by means of a control cylinder 60, within which is slidably disposed a piston 8| on a piston rod 82 pivotally connected at 83 to the arm 18 on the shaft 65. The cylinder is pivotally connected by a pin 84 to the frame 6. The cylinder 80 is connected in communication with the yoke actuating cylinder I! by a duct 85, which connects to the side of the cylinder I! at a point intermediate the ends of the latter but near the upper end thereof.

Fluid is supplied to the lower end of the yoke cylinder I! through a supply duct 86. Preferably, compressed air is supplied from a suitable reservoir under control of valve mechanism, details of which do not constitute an important part of this invention, and therefore, since they are known to those skilled in the art, will be omitted in the interest of simplicity and clarity. The cylinder 88 is cut off from the supply duct 86 by the piston I6 until the latter passes the duct connection near the upper end of its stroke, therefore the cylinder 88 begins to actuate the arm 10 just at the time the head I4 is beginning to exert pressure against the top rail 4|. Thus, the pressure builds up substantially uniformly over the pressing surface '5 preventing the garment from being wrinkled or damaged.

The buck l6 extends beyond the end of the head to receive a cufi clamp 93, whichis mounted on an arm 94 pivotally mounted on the pivot pin II and "independently swingable vertically into engagement with the buck extension under manual control of the operator, in a well known manner.

A rod 95 is loosely pivoted beneath the outer end of the buck l6 and extends inwardly toward the support 48 and is vertically swingable from its pivotal support, for the purpose of taking up slack in the sleeve during a pressing operation.

With the head It and cuff clamp 93 in raised position, a sleeve or other tubular garment is drawn over the padded buck and over the pivoted rod 95 with the body of the garment gath" ered over the pedestal. clamped against the cuff of the sleeve after which the sleeve can be stretched smoothly over the buck. The weight of the rod 95 aids in smoothing the sleeve down on the sides of the buck. The

head is then lowered by admitting air to the cyl-- inder I! through the supply pipe 35, forcing the piston 13 and piston rod is upwardly. which swings the yoke downwardly about the pin i l.

When the piston l8 uncovers the connection with the tube 35, the air flows through the tube:

85, forcing the piston 8i upwardly in the cylinder 80, thereby rocking the shaft and car-taming arms 12 to force the pressing plates outwardly against the sides of the head i i. The operator then releases the air from the cylinders where s upon the springs 32 raise the head. At least half of the circumference of the sleeve has now been pressed. The sleeve is then turned to position the .unpressed portion over the pressing surface 58 and the pressing operation is repeated, completl ing the pressing of the sleeve.

I claim:

1. In a garment press, a pair of complementary, relatively movable buck and head members, one of said members having a generally concave pressing surface and the other having a generally convex pressing surface, the latter member including a central body portion and at least one side portion shiftalole relative to said body portion toward and away from said concave surface, a shaft rotatably mounted within said convex member, and a cam fixed to said shaft and engageable with said shiftable side portion to shift the latter, responsive to rotation of said shaft, in a direction toward said concave member for applying pressure thereto.

2. In a garment press, a pair of complementary, relatively movable buck and head members, one of said members having a generally concave pressing surface and the other having a generally convex pressing surface, the latter member including a support and a pair of side portions on opposite sides of said support and shiftable relative thereto toward and away from said concave surface, a shaft rotatably mounted within said convex member and extendingv longitudinally therein, and a pair of radially projecting arms mounted on said shaft and operatively engaged with said shiftable side portions, respectively, and responsive to rotary movement of said shaft to shift said opposite side portions toward said concave pressing surface for applying pressure thereto.

3. In a garment press, a buck having a generally inverted V-shaped cross section, a head movable relative thereto and having a complementary concave pressing surface, said buck including a pair of side plates serving as pressing surfaces and shiftable toward and away from said concave surface of said head, an actuating shaft rotatably mounted within said buck, and arm means fixed The cuff clamp Eli on said shaft and rotatable therewi h in engagement with said side plates to force the latter out wardly to apply pressure against the sides of said concave head surface.

4. In a garment press, a pair-of complementary, relatively movable buck and head members, one of said members having a generally concave pressing surface and the other having a generally convex pressing surface, the latter member including a central body portion and at least one side portion shiftable relative to said body portion to bear uniformly against a part of said concave surface, a shaft rotatably mounted within said convex member, and a cam fixed to said shaft and engageable with said sh-iftable side portion to shift the latter, responsive to rotation of said shaft, in a direction toward said concave memher for applying pressure uniformly over said side portion.

5. In a garment press, a pair of complementary, relatively movable buck and head members, one

of said members having a generally concave pressing surface and the other having a generally convex pressing surface, the latter member including a support and a pair of side portions on opposite sides of said support and shift-able rela tive thereto to bear uniformly against parts of said concave surface, a shaft rotatably mounted within said convex member and extending longitudinally therein, and a pair of radially projecting arms mounted on said shaft and operatively engaged with said shiftaole side portions, respectively, and responsive to rotary movement of said shaft to shift said opposite side portions to-- ward said concave pressing surface for applying pressure uniformly over said side portions.

6. In a garment press, a buck having a generally inverted V-shaped cross section, a head movable relative thereto and. having a complementary concave pressing surface, said buck including a pair of side plates serving as pressing surfaces and shiftable to bear uniformly against parts of said. concave surface of said head, an actuating shaft rotatably mounted within said buck, and arm means fixed on said shaft and rotatable therewith in engagement with said side plates to force the latter outwardly to apply pressure uniformly over portion of the sides of said concave head surface.

'7. For use in a garment press, a buck having a generally inverted V-shaped cross section and comprising a stationary supporting portion and a pair of side members shiftably mounted on opposite sides thereof, means adapted to move said side members outwardly from and inwardly toward said supporting portion, a shaft rotatably mounted in said supporting portion between said side members and having arms extending oppositely to engage the side members, and means for rotating said shaft to cause said arms to force said side members outwardly.

8. For use in-a garment press, a buck having a generally inverted V-shaped cross section and comprising a stationary supporting portion and a pair of side members shiftably mounted on opposite sides thereof, means adapted to move said side members outwardly from, and inwardly toward said supporting portion, a shaft extendin longitudinally within said supporting portion and rotatably mounted thereon, and a pair of radially extending cams fixed to said shaft at each end of said buck, each pair of cams projecting oppositely to engage said side members, respectively, and adapted to force the side memfacts outwardly from said supporting member responsive to rotation of said shaft.

9. An expanding sleeve buck comprising a stationary supportin portion having a longitudinally extending direct pressure rail along the top thereof and a pair of downwardly and outwardly sloping sides on opposite sides thereof, respectively, pressing plates shiftably mounted on said sloping sides, means providing for movement of said plates outwardly from, and inwardly toward, said sloping sides, a longitudinally extending shaft within said buck, and at least one pair of radially extending arms rigid on said shaft and connected with said plates, respectively, and operative to force the plates outwardly from said sloping sides responsive to rotation of said shaft.

10. An expanding sleeve buck comprising a stationary supporting portion having a longitudinally extendin direct pressure rail along the top thereof and a pair of downwardly and outwardly sloping sides on opposite sides thereof, respectively, pressing plates shiftably mounted on said sloping sides, means providing for movement of said plates outwardly from, and inwardly toward, said sloping sides, a longitudinally extending shaft within said buck, and at least one pair of opposed camming arms fixed to said shaft and extending outwardly into engagement with said pressing plates, for forcing the plates away from said sloping walls to expand the buck, said arms having rollers journaled thereon in rolling engagement with said plates, respectively.

11. An expanding sleeve b-uck comprising a stationary supporting portion having a longitudinally extending direct pressure rail along the top thereof and a pair of downwardly and outwardly sloping sides on opposite sides thereof, respectively, pressing plates shiftably mounted on said sloping sides, means providing for movement of said plates bodily outwardly from, and inwardly toward, said sloping sides and for a limited amount of free angular movement relative thereto, and actuating mechanism disposed within said buck adapted to apply outward pressure against said plates intermediate the top and bottom edges thereof, causing said plates to shift angularly coincident with outward expanding movement thereof, thereby substantially equalizing the pressure between the top and bottom edges against a complementary cooperative pressin element.

12. An expanding sleeve buck comprising a stationary supporting portion having a longitudinally extending direct pressure rail along the top thereof and a pair of downwardly and outwardly sloping sides on opposite sides thereof,

respectively, pressing plates shiftably mounted on said sloping sides, means providing for movement of said plates bodily outwardly from, and inwardly toward, said slopin sides and for a limited amount of free angular movement relative thereto, a rotatable shaft extending longitudinally Within said supporting portion and having radially extending cams engaging said plates intermediate the top and bottom edges thereof, and meansv for turning said shaft about its major axis to apply outward pressure against said plates, causing the plates to shift angularly coincident with outward expanding movement thereof, thereby substantially equalizing the pressure between the top and bottom edges against a complementary cooperative pressing element.

13. For use in a garment press, a buck having a generally inverted V-shaped cross section and comprising a stationary supporting portion and a pair of side members shiftably mounted on opposite sides thereof, respectively, means pro viding for movement of said side members outwardly from, and inwardly toward, said supporting portion, and for a limited amount of free angular tilting movement relative thereto about axes extending along either the top or bottom edges of said side members, a head movable relative to said buck and having a complementary concave pressing surface, and actuating mechanism disposed within said buck adapted to apply outward pressure against said side members intermediate the top and bottom edges thereof to cause said side members to shift angularly coincident with outward movement thereof into substantially equalized pressure relation with said concave pressing surface in said head 14. The combination set forth in claim 13, including the further provision that said mounting means comprises a plurality of dowel pins attached to the inner surface of said side members adapted to fit loosely within registering apertures in said stationary supporting portion.

BENJAMIN S. KAGAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent;

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,006,524 Bartholomew Oct. 24, 1911 1,967,085 Emery July 17, 1934 2,147,596 Long Feb, 14, 1939 2,315,690 Davis Apr. 6, 1943 2,328,229 Pearson Aug. 31, 1943 2,343,289 Forse Mar. 7, 1944 

